1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of information handling system thermal management, and more particularly to a system and method for information handling system hybrid system level and power supply cooling.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Information handling system capabilities have improved as processing components used to build information handling systems have become more powerful. One example of this is that more powerful central processing units (CPUs) are able to perform greater numbers of calculations in less time. Another example of this is that microprocessors are included in greater numbers of components thus giving the components greater intelligence to handling system management functions. For instance, many server information handling systems include a baseboard management controller (BMC) that manages operation of the server, such as by allowing remote power up and power down commands. The BMC typically includes a basic microprocessor that executes firmware to allow out-of-band communications even if the rest of the server information handling system is powered down. The BMC often has thermal and power management functions that define operational constraint for the information handling system, such internal system temperatures and component power consumption. In some instances, the BMC operates cooling fans that provide cooling airflow to information handling system components. An advantage of this arrangement is that end users can remotely monitor thermal conditions within the server information handling system through out-of-band network communications, and can remotely manage operation of individual components through a management bus, such as an I2C bus.
As the cost of microprocessors has decreased, microprocessors have found their way into a variety of different types of components used to build information handling systems. One example of a component that has become more intelligent with the addition of a microprocessor is the power supply unit (PSU). Increased intelligence within a power supply has allowed the power supply to manage its own thermal parameters with control over a fan included in the power supply. In the past, a power supply thermal manager ran on the BMC or in a Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) or other firmware executing at a system level. Power supply temperature outputs were read by the BMC and applied by a BMC thermal manager to determine an appropriate response, such as a power supply cooling fan speed that is communicated from the BMC to the power supply. More advanced power supplies with more powerful microprocessors have onboard cooling fan control that allows the power supply to determine its own cooling requirements and fan speed settings. One difficulty with power supply based thermal management is that different thermal management profiles are often needed for different types of information handling systems, increasing the complexity of leveraging a give power supply across multiple types of information handling systems. Imbalance in the airflow of the power supply cooling fan and the cooling fan or fans of the information handling system can result in increased fan speeds that increase system acoustics and power consumption, particularly when operation of the power supply cooling fan starves airflow to the information handling system cooling fan or fans.